Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been spent by the Aged Veterans Fund in each year from 2016 to 2019.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Aged Veterans Fund, set up in 2015, used available LIBOR funds to support older veterans. It funded projects that supported non-core health, wellbeing, and social care needs for older veterans (born before 1 January 1950), including surviving World War 2 veterans, those who undertook National Service, and other voluntary enlisted veterans.
The table below details the value of funds awarded in the two years the Aged Veterans Fund was open:
Financial Year | Value of Grants Awarded |
2015-16 | £6,608,090 |
2016-17 | £22,792,661 |
Funding was made available for portfolios of projects lasting up to three years, so some projects are still ongoing.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many volunteers were recruited to the Army Reserve between January 2017 and July 2018.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Intake for the Army Future Reserve 2020 between 1 January 2017 and 31 July 2018 was 6,513. Further information can be found on gov.uk at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2018
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people from Northern Ireland were recruited to the army in each of the last three years.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The information requested will take time to collate and I will write to the noble Lord when it is available.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many British troops are currently serving at military training academies in Afghanistan.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
As at 17 September 2018, the UK has 146 personnel deployed to the Afghan National Army Officer Academy (ANAOA) where we are supporting the development of the Afghan National Army's future leaders. The UK also has 28 personnel deployed in support of the Afghan Infantry Branch School. The UK's contribution to both ANAOA and the Infantry Branch School is part of the UK's wider contribution to NATO's Resolute Support Mission.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve mental health support for (1) veterans, and (2) serving military personnel.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence is absolutely committed to the mental health of our Service personnel, providing robust training, welfare support and development opportunities. When necessary, we ensure that both serving personnel and veterans are given the mental healthcare and treatment they need. We do this by working in close partnership with a variety of different organisations, including the NHS (which is responsible for the provision of healthcare, including mental healthcare, for veterans) and Service charities such as Combat Stress.
Recent initiatives include the Defence People Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, launched in July 2017, which covers all Defence people and identifies the need for strong partnerships with the Department of Health, the NHS in England and the Devolved Administrations and the charitable sector, and a new operating model focusing on Promote, Prevent, Treat and Detect.
In October 2017, we announced a new partnership with the Royal Foundation, aimed at helping maintain and develop good mental fitness. And on 25 February this year, the Secretary of State for Defence announced that we have built on our existing partnership with Combat Stress to provide a new MOD-funded Military Mental Health Helpline for Serving personnel and their families, providing out-of-hours advice and assistance and running in conjunction with the charity's existing helpline for the veterans' community. We will also be providing an additional £2million of annual funding for military mental health services, on top of the £20million a year we already spend.
Mental health services are already provided for serving personnel through a network of 20 permanent locations, comprising 11 Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMHs); six Mental Health Teams (MHTs); and three locations with a permanent Community Mental Health Nurse. These support the provision of healthcare that is available through Service primary care facilities. In-patient care is provided in dedicated psychiatric units through a central contract MOD has with a partnership of eight NHS Trusts.
Personnel leaving the Armed Forces who have had mental health issues during their Service are eligible to access services at a local DCMH for up to six months after discharge, to help them during the transition period. A Veterans' Transition Protocol ensures any Service person discharged with a diagnosed mental health disorder is handed over appropriately to the NHS in England.
Where a Service person leaving the Armed Forces has an enduring need for mental healthcare, we work in partnership with NHS England through the Veterans Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service (VMH-TILS), to ensure continuity of care. The VMH-TILS service provides a range of treatment and support for veterans, as well as Armed Forces personnel approaching discharge. It will arrange for veterans to be referred if necessary to the NHS England Veterans' Mental Health Complex Treatment Service (VMH-CTS) which launches on 1 April 2018.
Other services available from MOD to veterans include the Veterans and Reserves Mental Health Programme (VRMHP), for veterans that have served since 1982 and Reservists with operational service overseas since 2003 (provided through the DCMHs), and the Veterans UK and Veterans Welfare Service.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what procedures are in place for members of the armed forces who present with learning difficulties.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Defence recognises four Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD), comprising dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and scotopic sensitivity syndrome.
Individuals affected by SpLD are eligible for specific support which may include reasonable adjustments to training and working environments. SpLD is recognised as being an issue that is principally and proactively managed by the individual, supported where necessary by their Chain of Command and not a condition which should draw undue attention, impractical or unmanageable special measures or stigma.
Defence direction on SpLD is accessible at unit level through Joint Service Publication (JSP) 822 'Defence direction and guidance for training and education' (part 1, section 6.1 refers). In addition, the single Services have trained SpLD advisors who can offer advice, guidance and a range of strategies to help individuals get the support they need.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many soldiers were recruited to the Army Reserve in 2016.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Intake figures to the Army Reserve during the calendar year 2016 are currently being validated ahead of publication as official statistics on 9 February 2017.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the rate of suicide among UK armed forces personnel who have seen active service in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence takes the mental health and well-being of its personnel very seriously. Our policy aims to reduce suicide risk through education, tackling stigma, and providing rapid, easily accessible, and flexible access to mental health support and health care services.
For the period 1 August 2002 to 31 December 2015, the rate of coroner confirmed suicides and open verdict deaths amongst those who had previously deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan and were still in Service at the time of their death was 0.9 per 1,000. This compared to a rate of 1.6 per 1,000 for those UK service personnel who have not been identified as having deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan prior to their death.
The 'Suicide and Open Verdict Deaths in the UK Regular Armed Forces 1984-2015' National Statistics Notice published in March 2016 shows that over the past 30 years, male suicide rates among the UK regular Armed Forces have been lower than the UK general population. In 2014, the male suicide rate in the UK general population was 16.8 per 100,000 compared to a UK Armed Forces rate of 4 per 100,000.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to provide a dedicated 24-hour mental health helpline for serving soldiers.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is absolutely committed to looking after the mental health of our Armed Forces, and provides a range of community-based health care in line with national best practice. We appreciate that personnel with mental health issues might need access to help outside normal working hours, and we provide this by working in close partnership with a variety of different organisations, including the NHS and Service charities.
In most areas of the UK, immediate out of hours care includes the free 24-hour mental health helpline run by the charity Combat Stress (which receives funding from MOD), and the Big White Wall, a 24-hour online community. In Northern Ireland, we provide MOD-managed telephone support for Service personnel for primary healthcare, as there is no contracted independent service provider for this type of health care in that part of the UK.
In the most serious cases, where urgent treatment is required, we are able to arrange emergency admittance to one of eight specialised inpatient NHS mental health units, under a contract between MOD and a consortium of NHS Trusts. These units have a range of dedicated facilities for military personnel, and admission can be arranged at any time of day or night.
We believe that these arrangements are robust and effective, and there are therefore no plans to provide an additional helpline.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much money has been received from the sale of former military sites and bases in Northern Ireland to date.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Since 2005 the Ministry of Defence has received around £117 million in disposal receipts from the sale of surplus sites in Northern Ireland.
All transactions were carried out in accordance with the Hillsborough Agreement.
Over the same period, the Department gifted four bases to the Northern Ireland Executive with an estimated total combined value of £21 million. As outlined in a Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS509) released on 4 February 2016, there is also intent to gift an additional 59 surplus Service Family Accommodation units to the Northern Ireland Executive, with a combined value of £3.5 million.